


Falling For You

by AlannaRose



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: A Lot of Death, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Heavy Angst, Iwaizumi can buff his skin with minerals, Light Pining, M/M, Oikawa can mind control people, Quirk Au, angstfest 2018, bnh/mha au, oikawachallenge2018
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-15 00:09:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15400635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlannaRose/pseuds/AlannaRose
Summary: Oikawa Tooru believes that falling is the worst way to die, and he should know, he's felt what it's like to actually die. Years of repression and trying to forget can never erase the invisible scars on his skin. Some nights he can feel the cracking of shattered bones and still beating heart. Its those night he curls into himself and cries, wondering why he was given such a dangerous quirk, such a great responsibility at just 6 years old.





	Falling For You

**Author's Note:**

> This is my long thought out quirk au. Just some clarification, this takes place in the 4-5th generation of One For All, so way before out modern Deku and crew. 
> 
> Thank you Avein for waiting up for me and being an amazing beta reader. I love you.

They say that first times are always the hardest. The first day of school. The first time driving a car. A first date. The first time you fall in love. First times always sticks with you. And he had been so _careful_ since that first time.

His first fall.

His first death.

Oikawa hates falling. The anticipation before the drop, the pain of hitting the pavement, the feeling of every part of your body becoming simultaneously disjointed and scrunched together all at once. Falling was the worst way to die. He’d rather get shot. That way there was less time to think about the inevitability of what was happening, less time to wait before it all ended.

Ever since the first time he felt what it was liked to fall, he did his best to stop it from happening again. Never again did he want that feeling of weightlessness to take hold of him, nor did he ever again want to hear the wind rushing past his ear, effectively muting the sound of the world around him. It made him feel dead to the world, a grim reminder of how in just another few moments a heart would stop beating.

The fear ruled his movements. He became hyper aware of every drop, every possible misstep that could lead to a fall. It was almost funny how one event could change a his life so drastically.

Remembering the moment of his first fall now was as frightening as it was ironic. In this moment, all Oikawa wants to do was laugh. Life has a cruel way of making you pay for the things you’ve done, so of course it would make the first time just like the last. This was his end. Once the feeling of shattered bones takes hold of him once more, his heart will be in just as many pieces.

Why did it have to end this way? With only a few moments left, now is the best time to reflect, isn’t it? Oikawa’s mind goes back to the beginning, the start of everything, the day that life spat in his face and told him no matter how much he lied to himself: _you’ll never save anyone._

As a child Oikawa Tooru couldn’t wait for his quirk to manifest. With an average of 70% of the world’s population developing special powers called quirks, why would he be left without one? It would only be a matter of time before he could read minds like his mother or something similar. After all his best friend Iwaizumi had already discovered his quirk the week before; the ability to create thin layers of whatever material he was touching over his skin. The amount of skin it covered was directly proportional to how much of the material was available.

With Iwa’s newfound quirk the boys decided to play hero at their local park. Iwa got to be the Number 1 Hero while Oikawa played the distraught civilian held hostage by the dastardly villain, aka Oikawa’s dog Ripley. It was just a normal day where the kids were having fun playing around in their peacefully neighborhood.

It’s a shame that it couldn’t last.

It all went downhill when Oikawa tumbled out of the park’s slide. At the bottom he came in contact with another person much larger than him. The man was tall and menacing with a ski mask covering his face. He took one glance at Oikawa and threw the child over his shoulder before booking it to the nearest store, a recently built 4 story supercenter.

At first Oikawa was in too much shock to react, not understand what was happening. He remained still as the man grabbed him and took him into an unfamiliar place. Once inside the man shot two bullets into the ceiling to clear the area. Predictably, everyone inside scrambled to escape.

The sound of the gunshots brought Oikawa back to reality. Panic set in and he began to cry, shouting about how he wanted to go back to the playground.

The man grew irritated with him and covered Oikawa’s mouth with his hand, leaving Oikawa to sob quietly in fear. The man continued to carry him up the stairs and out to the top of the building. Outside Oikawa could hear the tell tale sirens of police cars and a loud megaphone demanding the villain let his hostage go. The villain grumbled some low curses and dug his nails into the side of Oikawa face, pulling another muffled scream from the child.

Time passed by, the police made little foreground when it came to trying to talk the man down. From what Oikawa understood the man was a villain with no quirk that had tried robbing a bank with other quirkless villains.

Oikawa slowly stopped struggling, the reality of the situation catching up to him. He was being held hostage by a villian. A hero would come and save him, he believed that wholeheartedly. Heroes stopped villains and saved civilians, that’s how it worked.

But as time went on Oikawa slowly began to lose hope. The villain was negotiating with the police over the side of the building by shouting. He never put Oikawa down which meant that Oikawa was constantly dangled over the edge. He was forced to see the drop over and over. It was akin to staring at the grim reaper while his scythe at your throat.

The sun began to set and Oikawa had given into the inevitability that he was going to be trapped on that roof forever. He had cried himself out hours ago, instead taking to quietly gasping for air. The way the villain held him crushed his arms and made it harder to breath and impossible to scream. So Oikawa held back the urge to yell into the hand that covered his mouth and instead allowed shallow, quiet sounds to escape.

The sound of the roof’s door being kicked open lit a new fire inside Oikawa. _This was it. This was his savior._ But what came out wasn’t a hero or the police like Oikawa had hoped. It was another man in a ski mask.

The man holding him let out a sigh of relief before gruffly telling the other, “Where have you been? I needed an out like 4 hours ago.”

The other man shrugged, “It took longer than we thought to get past the blockade.” The two continued to chatter back and forth about their escape plan. Oikawa zoned out, to caught up in the feeling of terror and hopelessness gripping him. It was a comment from the newcomer that was able recapture Oikawa’s attention, “Get rid of the kid and then we’ll head out.”

The man holding him nodded and moved towards the edge of the building once again. Oikawa’s body was filled with a renewed energy and he kicked and squirmed desperately to get out of the man’s hold. The sudden movement caught the man off guard and he removed his hand from Oikawa’s mouth to get a better hold of him.

With his mouth now free Oikawa yelled, “Get away from me!” His voice sounded strange even to himself. It was unusually smooth for having spent half a day crying, and his tone had a harshness to it that rung in his ears.

Both men went completely still for a moment. The one holding him moved first, dropping Oikawa on the pavement. Oikawa let out a yelp of pain and curled into himself in fear. The two men awkwardly moved away from him. They took a few steps backwards, then another few, and a couple more after that, right of the edge of the building.

Oikawa peer out from under his arms confused. As the men plummeted off the building Oikawa felt as if he was falling with them. For a few moments his mind tricked his body into thinking that he was falling to his death. His body involuntarily uncurled and he stared dazed up at the sky as the feeling of weightlessness came over him. It was almost nice, he wondered if it was how birds felt when they fly. But it came to a sudden, harsh, painful end.

Oikawa felt the crash of two bodies hitting the ground one after the other. His breathing stopped, maybe even his heart did, he couldn’t tell, it felt like he died but his mind hadn't caught up with that fact just yet. The pain of shattered bones was too much for him to take and his vision failed him. Yet he remained conscious for a few more torturous moments. Terrified he laid in darkness awaiting the moment his mind took pity on him and shut him off completely from the world.

* * *

 

“Mama?” Oikawa’s voice sounded far away, even to himself. He tried to move his body but he couldn’t. None of his muscles were responding. Panic started to set in and his breathing came quicker and quicker.

“Tooru, you’re awake,” his mother sounded relieved. She put down the black notebook she had been writing in before. Oikawa recognized it as the one she used for work. Her smile calmed him rapidly beating heart, “You can’t move, can you?” Oikawa attempted to shake his head, and his body granted him that small movement. “I thought that might be the case… The doctors said nothing was wrong, it must be something to do with your quirk.”

“My quirk?” Oikawa’s voice was a whisper.

Again his mother flashed him a bright, proud smile, “Tooru, you must have used your quirk while you were on that roof,” she gently ran her fingers through his hair reassuringly, “You have the ability to tell people what to do, and then they’ll do it without question. It's a very powerful quirk and you’re going to have to be very careful from now on.” Oikawa nodded. His mind traveled back to the rooftop and then to the fall. “Tooru sweetie you’re shaking,” his mother whispered. He hadn’t even noticed. “I need to ask you some questions ok? Are you gonna be ok with that?”

“I’ll try,” Oikawa answered, willing his body to stop the involuntary movements.

“That’s my boy,” she lightly ruffled his hair, “Did they hurt you at all?”

Oikawa thought back to the rooftop, he hadn’t felt any pain until right at the end after the man had already begun falling. He wasn’t sure if it was the man’s fault that he passed out so he responded with, “I don’t think so.”

“What do you mean?”

“At the end… right after they fell off the building, I felt like I was falling too. I thought….I thought I...” Oikawa’s breathing hitched and his mother began to gently rub his back, “I thought I died.”

Oikawa’s mother stilled in her movement and stared closely at her son. The way she looked at him made Oikawa feel like there was glass between them, as if she was simply observing him. She removed her hands from him and reached for her notebook again jotting down some notes.

“Mama?...” Oikawa’s voice was weak and she didn’t seem to hear him, instead to absorbed in the pages she was flipping through to compare information. Recognizing that his mother wasn't listening Oikawa sat quietly staring at his hands.

His mother would always do things like this. Her job as a quirk analyst had trained her to observe and record. Oikawa was often left waiting for her to finish jotting something down before she would even acknowledge him. Yet, even if it was normal, these situations made him feel incredibly isolated. And the way she looked at him now only made him feel even more like he was just another assignment, a thing to study rather than her son. It scared him.

Time passed and Oikawa began to fidget from his spot on the bed. His mother furrowed her brow as his movements made it more difficult for her to write. She raised her head from where it was buried in the notebook with a glare. Seeing the pained expression on her son’s face brought her back to reality. “I’m sorry sweetie, this must all be very scary right now?” she put the notebook down on the night desk and hugged her son, “But you should really be happy. You’ve gotten your quirk after all,” she began to slowly rub circles into his back again, “Your quirk is very powerful Tooru, from now on you’ll have to be very careful not to use it. People aren't going to like that you can control them. I’m not sure what the limitations on it is yet, but from what you described I think it’s possible that whenever someone is following what you said to them that if they get hurt you feel it too. That’s why you felt what it was like to die.” The explanation was unsurprising, his mother would often get hired to watch children and figure out the finer parts of their quirk. Oikawa took a moment to process it.

“But… I told them to get away from me. I felt like it was like to die, does that mean they died?” the realization hit Oikawa like a ton of bricks. His mother stilled once again, giving him all the answer he needed. Oikawa’s heart caught in his throat and all of a sudden it was hard to breath again. Between hiccups he whimpered, “I only… I only… only wanted them to leave, I didn’t… mean… to…. to… I didn’t want to … hurt them.”

He could only imagine what his mother was thinking at the moment. Heroes didn't kill people. _Villains_ did. He had failed at being a hero before he could even become one. He’d killed two men, he was no better than a villian. He was a monster.

“Sweetie, you’re not a monster,” his mother’s soft voice broke the chain of cascading thoughts drilling their way through Oikawa's mind, “You didn’t know. It’s ok. You just wanted to get away from them. It’s not your fault. They were bad men.”

“Is it ok to use my power on bad guys?” Oikawa wondered aloud.

“If they’re trying to hurt you then yes,” his mother pulled his head into her chest, “But I’m never going to let something like that happened ever again, I promise.” Oikawa clung to his mother’s shirt and continued to cry. HIs mother stayed with him and allowed him to let out his emotions. Eventually Oikawa fell asleep, still exhausted by the use of his newfound power, as well as the emotional turmoil that came with its discovery.

As soon as her son’s breathing steadied, Oikawa’s mother laid him down and picked up her notebook, once again getting absorbed into a world all her own. 

* * *

 

Days passed and a lot changed in the Oikawa household. The two key differences being that Oikawa was no longer allowed to leave the house or have visitors under any circumstance until his mother figured out completely how his new quirk worked. Of course this lead to Oikawa being insanely bored by day two, and he began to beg his mother to let Iwaizumi come over.

“Please mom, let Iwa-”

His mother cut him off, “Tooru, watch your language. If you want to ask a question like that there's another way remember?” Right. That was another new rule. Oikawa had to think about what he said before he said anything. If what he planned to say could be taken as a command, he either had to say it in his mind so his mother could read it or not at all. Oikawa had taken to the second option more often than not, finding it easier to remain quiet than get his mom’s attention for long enough to ask.

Oikawa pouted and pulled his knees up to his chest from where they were dangling off the couch. Ripley jumped up with him and nestled his way under Oikawa’s arms. _Can Iwa-chan please come over?_ Oikawa asked in his mind.

The immediate response was “No,” and from her tone no further discussion was allowed. Oikawa’s mother continued to work at her desk while her son stared at the wall trying to come up with a new game he could play by himself or with Ripley. The rest of the day was spent much like that. He tried asking either to go outside or to hang out with Iwaizumi a few more times, only to get more more frustrated rejections from his mother.

That night Oikawa’s mother sent him off to bed early and alone, making it the first night Oikawa would have to fall asleep by himself.

He tossed and turned for what felt like hours with an unsettling feeling that something was wrong. His stomach flipped over a few times giving him the feeling that he would throw up any second. His mind wandered back to the rooftop and the fall. The feeling in his stomach now was almost the same as when he laid curled up on the roof. Trying to shake the thought from his mind he rolled over only to cause his head to fall out over the edge just a bit.

He stared down at the ground that couldn’t have been more than two feet away and all of a sudden he felt like he wasn’t on solid ground anymore. His body began shaking and he couldn’t move an inch without a violent shiver running down his spine. Was the ground further away than usual? His vision faded at the edges and the ground only seemed to get further away.

A knock on his window pulled him back to his senses. Startled by the loud noise Oikawa dragged himself up and away from the edge of the bed. With wide eyes he focused on his gaze on the bedroom window.

In the pale moonlight he could identify Iwaizumi standing outside. Oikawa scrambled from the bed and over to let the other in. As quietly as he could Oikawa opened the window and helped Iwaizumi over the banister.

“Iwa-chan, you’re not supposed to be here,” Oikawa murmured.

Iwaizumi shrugged, “Doesn’t matter, I’m not scared of getting sick.”

 _I’m not sick._ The thought flashed through Oikawa’s mind and he frowned. “Mama’s gonna be mad if she figured out your here.”

“I’ll leave before it gets too late,” Iwaizumi countered easily.

“I don’t know,” Oikawa chewed on his lip nervously. He weighed his options, on one hand he could tell his mother Iwaizumi was here and then Iwaizumi would get in trouble for sneaking over, or he could spend some time with his friend like he wanted too. Oikawa didn’t want Iwaizumi to get in trouble, so the second option was looking better and better. “OK, but if we hear my mom coming you have to hide right away.”

Iwaizumi nodded. His eyes held sparks of mischief and he pulled Oikawa over to the bed. “I got you a get better soon present!” he declared. Fishing around in his pocket he took out what looked like a pile of rocks. Iwaizumi took hold of Oikawa’s left arm. The pile of rocks was connected by a string, and that’s when Oikawa realized it was actually a bracelet. Iwaizumi smiled proudly while explaining, “My dad helped me make it! The rocks all have different healing properties! This one’s garnet, and that one’s calcite…” Iwaizumi continued to list off the names that his father had told him.

Oikawa pulled his blanket down and around them both. Wrapped in the warm blanket cocoon Oikawa listened to Iwaizumi’s calming tone. The sleep that hadn’t come to him easily before laid a light fog over his consciousness. He was half asleep when Iwaizumi finished listing rocks and decided to ask, “Hey Oikawa, what happened on the roof?” Oikawa’s eyes snapped open. “Mom said you probably wouldn’t want to talk about it.” Oikawa could hear the blood rushing in his ears. “But I was really worried, and just wanted to know what happened. I wanna help-”

Oikawa cut him off, “Stop.”

The room went deathly silent. The only sound was that of Oikawa’s breathing. It was hard for him to get air again, he took faster breaths hoping to make the feeling go away. It took a few moments to long for Oikawa to realize he was breathing just fine.

It was just _his_ breathing he heard.

Glancing to his side he saw Iwaizumi staring blankly ahead at nothing. His face was starting to turn an odd shade Oikawa had never seen before.

“No! Iwa-chan! Please start breathing again. Start breathing again now!” Oikawa desperately shook his friend trying to knock Iwaizumi out of the trance he was in. Tears fell down his face as Iwaizumi gasped for breath. Iwaizumi coughed a few times while clawing at his throat. With wide eyes Iwaizumi turned to stare at Oikawa, they were filled with confusion and worst of all, fear.

Oikawa scurried away to give Iwaizumi room. Ashamed he hung his head low and started to mutter, “I’m sorry Iwa-chan, I didn’t mean to. I’m so sorry. I just… I don’t know how to control it.”

A hand came down on his shoulder and Oikawa jumped. In the next moment Iwaizumi pulled Oikawa into a hug. The warmth Iwaizumi radiated caught Oikawa off guard and they sat there, Oikawa in Iwaizumi’s arms. After registering that Iwaizumi wasn’t running away in fear like he thought he would, Oikawa brought his own arms up and held only Iwaizumi desperatly.

Iwaizumi allowed Oikawa to cry himself out. Once he had, Oikawa buried his face in the crook on Iwaizumi’s neck. When he spoke it was a whisper that he wasn’t even sure Iwaizumi could hear, “Don’t ever let me tell you what to do again.”

“Ok…” Iwaizumi hummed and pulled Oikawa impossibly close. The two boys remained in each other’s arms, falling asleep not long after.

The next morning was filled with scoldings from not only Oikawa’s mother but also Iwaizumi’s parents. Of course the children apologized, and then completely forgot about promising to never do it again three days later. After a week of midnight visits Oikawa’s mother gave in and allowed Iwaizumi to come over whenever he wanted, finding it easier than the headache she would have to deal with in the morning.

Over the span of a few visits it became very apparent that Oikawa’s quirk no longer worked on Iwaizumi. Oikawa’s mother was both fascinated and baffled by it, but instead of asking the boys what might have happened she decided to observe from afar.

As years passed Oikawa and Iwaizumi only grew closer. Together they promised each other to reach for the top and become Number 1 Heroes together. Their parents encouraged the boys by signing them up for combat classes with a veteran hero named The Greatness™ , better known to them as Coach Alex. He was a former top 10 hero in Europe before he decided to move to Japan. His reasons for doing so had been that the greatest heroes and quirks were emerging there, and in his old age he wanted to teach the newest generation. Under Alex’s tutelage Oikawa and Iwaizumi learned not only how to defend themselves but how to protect others.

Years passed, but not without some more roadblocks for Oikawa. Somehow kids in his junior high discovered his quirk, which lead to a majority of the student body avoiding Oikawa out of fear. And those who didn’t would bombard Oikawa with harsh words and false rumors about what he’d done with his quirk.

Oikawa did his best to ignore them. He hid behind a too perfect smile and bright exclaimitions of “I’m fine Iwa-chan,” whenever questioned. But in truth it took a toll on him. Every time he tried to do something to prove himself they twisted the meaning behind it into something that resembled a selfish act. Oikawa could never be good enough for them, and no matter how many times Iwaizumi told him it didn’t matter what they thought Oikawa knew it did. He wanted to be a hero, heroes had to be popular to succeed in Japan. Worries about his future as a hero were always at the forefront of his mind, only really falling into the background when he was training.

And that’s where Oikawa found himself one fateful day after school. He was practicing in the gym run by The Greatness™ when his coach entered. “Tooru, you are early,” his coach remarked in heavily accented Japanese, “Where is Hajime? You normally get food together before coming over.”

Oikawa paused his assault on the practice dummies for a moment to answer, “Iwa-chan said he had some stuff to take care off.” There was a haunted look in Oikawa’s eyes as he resumed throwing bo shuriken at his target.

“Tooru, did something happen?” Alex calmly approached his student. He stole a quick glance at the dummies and saw that Oikawa’s aim was still rapidly improving. He hid a small smile of pride.

Oikawa lowered his hand to his sides and clutched the sides of his pants. “I tried to apply for Student Council,” he admitted, sounding partially ashamed.

A hard line formed on the coach’s face. He’d overheard Oikawa and Iwaizumi speaking about Oikawa’s experiences at school. How other children called Oikawa a villian for simply having the stereotypically villainous quirk that he did. Of course he knew about Oikawa’s quirk, it’s one of the reasons he had accepted both his and Iwaizumi’s application when they were young. He wanted to set the boy on the right path in life, knowing Oikawa had the capability to be a great hero. “You are a very smart student, you would make a good member of the student’s council.”

A short, dry laugh left Oikawa’s lips, “When I went to turn in my application a bunch of my classmates stopped me. They took the paper and tore it to pieces. Guess they already took a vote and no one wanted me in charge.” Oikawa’s usually bright smile fell lifeless over his features, his hollow eyes betrayed the hurt and pain he felt at their rejection.

Alex frowned and turned to walk to his office, “Come with me. We must talk.” Obediently Oikawa followed after his coach. Once inside the office both of them took a seat. Oikawa sunk down in his, feeling small among the trophies and medals that lined the walls. His coach was the apidenmy of everything Oikawa aspired to be and seeing it all displayed so proudly was just a bit intimidating.

“Tooru,” Alex began, “You have a great power, you know that. Others do as well. They fear what they do not control and you can not change that. But that does not mean they are right. You do not rely on what was given to you. You learn other ways to help because you fear using your power. It is good to learn, but it is also good to use what makes you different. Do not listen to others, prove them wrong. And, if not now, do it when you are great hero. Be proud of yourself. I believe you will surpass all of them when the time comes.”

The words rang true in Oikawa’s mind. What his coach said lined up perfectly with what Iwaizumi had been trying to tell him for years, but hearing those words from a pro hero was different somehow. The invisible pressure over Oikawa’s mind lessened and he actually understand for once. “I won’t disappoint you, Coach,” he spoke with a blistering confidence, “I’ll reach the top not just by using what you’ve taught me, but also by using the quirk given to me.”

The former hero nodded solemnly, “Now let us prepare some food for the other students. They are always hungry, especially that Ushijima boy.” He got out of his chair and began to walk towards the small kitchenette outside the office.

“Ushiwaka always wastes energy using his quirk to show off, no wonder he’s always eating something,” Oikawa grumbled, but begrudgingly followed after his coach anyway. Alex let out a bellowful laugh and ruffled Oikawa’s hair.

They were well into their way making a healthy snack when Oikawa felt a heavy kick to his stomach. On reaction he doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach. Faintly he could hear Alex asking what was wrong, but all Oikawa could focus on was the repediate phantom punches and kicks to various body parts. His knuckles ached in a telling way. He quickly recognized that it wasn’t his pain, it was that of someone under his control, but who?

Frantically he wracked his mind for the answer. The situation became more dire with every second. This wasn’t a one on one fight, someone was either in a brawl or getting ganged up on. Oikawa grasped at the counter and pulled himself up. Taking a few calming breaths Oikawa pushed the pain to the back of his mind, dulling it a fraction.

“Tooru, speak to me. What is wrong? Do I have to get Iwaizumi to take you home?” Alex helped to support Oikawa.

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa gasped. Memories of phantom scratched and colds with no fever flashed through his mind. Oikawa pushed away from his coach and limped to the door. With each step he was able to force the pain away just a bit more. “I’ll be back soon coach, I just need to check on something,” Oikawa muttered when he realized that Alex was following him.

“Are you sure?”

Oikawa didn’t respond as he exited the building. He had no clue where Iwaizumi was. His friend had told him to go ahead to the gym without him, claiming he had something else at school to take care of. Considering it was the last place he saw Iwaizumi and where he claimed to be, the school was probably his best bet.

Oikawa ran the short distance to the school. No one was outside, so he decided to check their classroom first. The pain was getting more intense and it no longer felt like Iwaizumi was even hitting his opponents. Most of the pain was centered around his chest area and Oikawa had to remind himself that he could still breath.

Either out of sheer luck or because of his amazing powers of deduction Oikawa had been right. Outside of their classroom Iwaizumi laid on the floor. Two boys Oikawa recognized from the group that had stopped him from turning his application in earlier stood above Iwaizumi wearing matching grins as they kicked him. Tunnel vision blocked out his peripheral and Oikawa barely took into account the three others holding various body parts scattered around the hallway.

A fury that Oikawa had never experienced before took hold of him. All the pain was forgotten as adrenaline kicked in. Oikawa rushed at one of the assailants, grabbing his arm and twisting it around his back. The other one was taken aback and stopped his assault. Wide eyed he stared at Oikawa. The surprise in them was obvious and soon gave was to terror as he realized that it was Oikawa. He glanced towards the end of the hallway, contemplating running.

“Don’t even think about leaving,” Oikawa’s voice sounded distant to himself. His tone chillingly calm and unfamiliar even to himself. After a moment of thought he realized it was familiar, the last time he had heard himself sound like this was the night on the roof. The night he had killed two people.

Logically he knew that he didn’t want to hurt anyone, but they had hurt Iwaizumi. Oikawa wanted nothing more than to see them suffer at his hands the way his friend had.

 _Suffer._ The word was on the tip of his tongue when he felt a hand grab at his ankle. Furrowing his brow he cast a glance downward to see that Iwaizumi was staring up at him.

Iwaizumi’s gaze was filled with many emotions, the clearest of which was pain. Seeing it only fueled the fire burning in Oikawa’s heart. He wanted them to pay. He didn’t care that they treated him like monster, but hurting Iwaizumi was different. Iwaizumi hadn’t ever done anything to deserve the title of villian that they branded Oikawa with. And in that moment, Oikawa was willing to prove them right. But it was Iwaizumi’s words that doused the flames, “Oikawa don’t. You’re better than they are.”

Hearing the words knocked sense into him. Oikawa released the boy from his hold and let his hands fall limp at his sides. Glaring at them one last time he told them, “Go home, tell you’re parents what you did.” Almost robotically the two boys, along with their friends on the ground left the school building.

Letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding Oikawa kneeled down next to Iwaizumi. “Can you get up Iwa-chan?” Oikawa mumbled. Iwaizumi grunted in response and allowed Oikawa to help him up. Oikawa could feel the soreness from where Iwaizumi had received light injuries. Thankfully nothing seemed too serious, the most pressing issue being Iwaizumi’s bloody knuckles. Oikawa gently pulled Iwaizumi’s arm over his shoulder, being careful not to agitate the open wounds. Feeling the pulsing pressure on his own knuckles caused Oikawa’s stomach to dropped in an unsettling way. Quietly he whispered, “Sorry.”

“What the hell are you apologizing for?” Iwaizumi snapped back, “It’s not your fault they decided to jump me.”

“But it is, isn’t it?” Oikawa argued, “If you didn't hang out with me then they wouldn't have-”

“Shut up,” Iwaizumi cut him off, “It’s not your fault, stop blaming yourself for others being ignorant.”

Oikawa was taken by aback but smiled softly, “I guess you’re right Iwa-chan.”

“Of course, I’m right,” Iwaizumi responded gruffly.

They made their way slowly to the gym upon Iwaizumi’s insistence. Once there Alex cleared out an area for them to sit down at in the back of the training hall. Oikawa used the first aid kit to wrap up the cuts and lightly scold Iwaizumi for his brash actions. “You know you could’ve used your quirk…” he mumbled absentmindedly.

Iwaizumi sent him a heated look, “I did use my quirk to protect myself but I wasn’t about to get in trouble for using my quirk on someone else on top of getting into a fight. It’s why everything is bruising instead of broken.”

 _Ah, that makes sense…_ Oikawa thought to himself. A comfortable silence settled over both of them. Iwaizumi broke it with a soft, “Hey Oikawa?” Oikawa hummed in acknowledgment. “Thanks for showing up. You really saved me there.” Taken aback, Oikawa stared at Iwaizumi, who blushed and avoided eye contact.

Iwaizumi opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted by the door to the gym being slammed open. A tall woman with curly black hair stepped through the doors. Her eyes zeroed in on Iwaizumi. All the other students as well as their coach stopped moving, frozen as they watched her stalk towards him.

“Iwaizumi Hajime,” she called out as she approached.

“Rest in pieces Iwa-chan,” Oikawa whispered lowly while clutching at his heart, “I will always remember you fondly.”

“Shut up Shittykawa,” Iwaizumi snapped back, but there was no real bite behind it, instead Oikawa heard a slight panic in his voice.

From the door emerged another man with sandy blonde hair, he whipped his head around frantically before settling on  the woman. Once she came to a stop infront of Iwaizumi the man in the door hurriedly clambered in after her, taking a far less threatening stance next to her.

“Why did I get a call from Riku’s mother saying you were in a fight with him?” the woman menacingly stood with her arms crossed infront of the two friends.

Iwaizumi visibly gulped, “I didn’t start it,” he began to explain, “They were trying to stop me from turning in the applications I told you guys about.”

“So you punched one of them?” the man spoke.

Iwaizumi frowned, “No, they did. I was just trying to defend myself, but there were too many of them. Oikawa had to come by and save my a- break up the fight.”

The woman stared at Iwaizumi closely. Concluding that he was telling the truth the woman backed off a bit. “Who started it doesn’t matter,” Iwaizumi’s mother turned to Oikawa, “Oikawa thank you for getting this son of mine out of trouble.”

“It’s fine Aunty,” Oikawa replied quickly, “It really wasn’t Iwa-chan’s fault, he didn’t do anything wrong.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Iwaizumi’s father stepped in.

Iwaizumi’s mother nodded and continued, “Hajime you’re coming home with us right now. You’re grounded for the next week.” Both Iwaizumi’s and Oikawa’s faces fell, but Iwaizumi stood up anyway. There was no arguing once his parents made a decision. Oikawa watched Iwaizumi walk away shamefully, flanked by his parents.

Once they were gone everyone returned to what they had been doing, but not without whispering a few words to their partners. Oikawa sighed and let them gossip, instead focusing on putting away the medical supplies.

As soon as he put the last bandage away he was startled by someone throwing their arm around his shoulder. Scared, Oikawa pulled his elbow back on instinct, successfully removing the person from behind him and knocking the first aid kit to the floor.

“Holy shit Oikawa,” the person exclaimed holding their side.

Oikawa spun around, “Makki! Don’t scare me like that!”

From his other side Oikawa heard a snicker, “Oikawa: Master of the Scaredy Cat Style.”

Shooting a glare at the other new comer Oikawa whined, “Shut up Mattsun.” Both boys bent over and helped Oikawa pick up all the supplies and put them away.

“So what was that about?” Hanamaki asked in reference to Iwaizumi’s early exit from training.

“Iwa-chan got into a fight with a couple guys from school,” Oikawa explained easily.

“Iwaizumi? In a fight?” Matsuakwa stared at Oikawa as if he had grown a second head.

Oikawa sighed, “Yeah… the guys at school caught me trying to apply for Student Rep, and well… that didn’t end well. They must’ve been waiting for me to go back after school or something, but found Iwa-chan instead.” Oikawa could still feel the faint throbbing of where dark purple bruises must be forming on Iwaizumi’s skin. _It should’ve been me._

“Hey Oikawa, you know that it’s not your-”

Matsukawa was cut off by their coach yelling from across the room, “IF YOU HAVE TIME TO TIME TO TALK YOU HAVE TIME FOR TRAINING!” All three boys scrambled to get up and get back to their individual activities.

Oikawa spent the rest of the day losing him in physical training. It took the combined effort of  Matsukawa and Hanamaki both to get him to finally go home. In the end the convincing argument had been that if he went home he would be able to check on Iwaizumi. Of course Oikawa knew just how shity Iwaizumi was feeling, but he had a few questions that needed answering.

Oikawa rushed home, only writing his mother a quick note to tell her that he was staying at Iwaizumi’s house for the night. He was confident that she wouldn’t be coming home anyway, she had spent more and more nights in her lab since she got a promotion. He didn’t even worry about grabbing clothes, at that point he’d already left enough things at the Iwaizumi household to be able to stay for a few nights.

Instead of ringing the doorbell at the front of the house, Oikawa slipped in through the back. In the last year, Iwaizumi’s house had become more of a home than his own.

Once inside Oikawa poked his head into the kitchen, “Uncle, what’s for dinner?”

“Tooru,”  Iwaizumi’s father smiled at him, “Just some tofu. Hajime’s pretty sore and I thought he might appreciate it.”

“It smells great,” Oikawa complimented as he entered the kitchen. Grabbing his teal apron off the hook he joined the other in preparing dinner. The two shared simple conversation about how Oikawa doing in school and at training.

Upon finishing dinner, Oikawa set the table while Iwaizumi’s father went to go get his son and wife. “She’s been on the phone all night arguing with the principal,” he told Oikawa.

Iwaizumi was the first to come down, he seemed unsurprised by Oikawa’s presence and simply helped him finish setting the table. Iwaizumi’s parents came down together. His mother was positively fuming as she ranted about the call she had been on. “They want to suspend him. Suspend him! He was defending himself! He didn’t even use his quirk like they did! Their mother’s even admitted to their son’s confessions! It makes no sense!”

Oikawa’s head whipped around to stare wide eyed at Iwaizumi, “Suspended?” Oikawa wasn’t sure if he could survive a couple days at school without Iwaizumi’s voice there to keep him sane amongst the lies he’d hear whispered about him daily. Iwaizumi avoiding his eyes, finding the the stack of plates he was holding particularly interesting. Desperately Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi’s mother, “Aunty?”

“If anything it’ll only be for a day. There’s no way their going to keep him out of a classroom longer than that, not with me on their ass,” she declared.

A part of Oikawa was relieved by the information, but still, one day was a long time.

Iwaizumi’s father lead his wife to her chair, “How about we talk about something else over dinner? Tooru how’s that research paper coming along? The one about that American space research center?”

And like that, the mood shifted to something far more lighthearted. Oikawa talked everyone’s ear off about NASA’s lack of proper funding, clarifying that it was actually a speech he would be giving in class. Iwaizumi picked up where he left off with a quick explanation of his own speech about all the differences between the American Godzillia franchise and the Japanese one.

Iwaizumi and his mother were tasked with cleaning off the table while his father and Oikawa prepared themselves for bed. Oikawa was dozing off on the futon in Iwaizumi’s room when his friend finally walked in. Iwaizumi did his best to be silent as not disturbed Oikawa, but unluckily for him Oikawa was a light sleeper.

“Iwa-chan?” Oikawa’s speech was slurred as he propped himself up on his elbows.

“Go to sleep Oikawa, you have school tomorrow,” Iwaizumi said slipping into his bed.

Oikawa snorted, “But you don’t,” Iwaizumi sent him a heated glare but that did little to stop Oikawa, who just rolled his eyes, “Can we seriously talk about it though? You said something to your mom about applications?”

Iwaizumi stiffened. Turning over in his bed he muttered, “Doesn’t matter.”

“Iwa-chan?” No reaction. “Iwa-chan.” Still nothing. “Iwa-channnnnnnnnnn.” That time he got an annoyed sigh. “You know I’m not gonna stop till you tell me.”

Iwaizumi flopped on his back with a frustrated growl. Throwing an arm over his eyes he said, “I filled out another one of those student council applications for you. Got all the teachers you asked to resign it, got one for myself too. I turned them in and afterwards they jumped.”

“Why? I thought you didn’t want to do it,” Oikawa was in awe of what his friend did for him.

Iwaizumi turned to face Oikawa, “You were excited to do it. It’s not right that those assholes stopped you, and I wasn’t about to let you do it on your own, especially after what happened.”

“Iwa-chan…” Oikawa sniffled.

“Please don’t start crying, my mom’s gonna think I said something to upset you, and then I’ll really be in for it,” Iwaizumi shuffled further towards the wall and held the blanket up, “Come on I know you can’t sleep properly on that thing.” Smiling Oikawa climbed up onto the twin size bed that really had no right to fit the two of them, but they made it work.

Sleep found Oikawa easily once again, and as his mind began to fog up he quietly whispered, “Thanks Hajime.”

The next morning Oikawa hurried to school after oversleeping. Iwaizumi watched in amusement as Oikawa scrambled to get all his things together. Betrayed cries of ‘Iwa-chan’ filled the house as Iwaizumi did the littlest things to delay Oikawa’s departure.

Once actually at school Oikawa realized just how alone he was. A few kids gave him weird looks, unused to him being without Iwaizumi. _Without his handler._ The thought flitted in and out of Oikawa’s head in an instant. He had more than a few times overheard some people compare him to wild animal that needed someone to keep on a leash.

Despite the unusual circumstance Oikawa stood up straight with him signature smile. He wasn’t going to show weakness infront of these people.

Class was easier than he’d expected, no one stared at him and he could focus on his studies. The first half of the day went by uneventfully, surprising Oikawa. By then he’d usually have more than a few threatening or disgusted comments directed towards him.

At lunch Oikawa pulled out the bento Iwaizumi’s father had prepared for him that morning. As usual it had more food than necessary, but when he turned to try and pawn some off on Iwaizumi he found nothing there. A sting of loneliness pricked at his heart.

He was picking at the food when a shadow fell over him. He took a deep breath before lifting his gaze upward, ready to see one of the usual assholes who wanted to ‘put him in his place’.

“Ushiwaka?” Oikawa was bewildered to say the least, Ushijima was the last person he’d expected to see standing infront of him. The first reason being they were in different classes and the second being that even though they had not once had a civil conversation, Ushijima usually left him alone at school.

“I heard Iwaizumi was not here today. I thought you might want some company,” Ushijima sat down where Iwaizumi usually would and a part of Oikawa resented it, but another was glad to have anyone to talk to at all.

They sat in silence for a moment before Oikawa turned to see that Ushijima’s lunch was almost empty. “You eat a lot don’t you,” it was a simple almost stupid observation.

Ushijima nodded all the same, “My quirk speeds up my metabolism. I eat more than the average person.”

“Do you want some of mine then?” Oikawa offered, “Usually Iwa-chan will eat what I can’t.”

Ushijima peered at Oikawa’s barely touched meal. “Some, not all,” he said. Taking the bento for a moment he took a little bit of everything, but left enough to still be a decently sized meal.

They lapsed into silence again. Oikawa began to actually eat his food and Ushijima continued with his. After a few moments Ushijima complimented the food.

“Ah thanks, but Iwa-chan’s dad made it. He’s a chef at Blue Castle!” And with that the ice was broken. Oikawa rambled on and on about different things, Ushijima only adding in a few bits of information when he deemed necessary. Before they both knew it, lunch was over and Ushijima had to return to his own class. With a brisk goodbye the two seperated, and Oikawa was left wondering what exactly had just transpired.

The rest of the day was just as boring as the first half had been, minus the appearance of Ushijima. When school ended Oikawa’s teacher asked him to stay behind. He told Oikawa that his application had been accepted, but sadly with Iwaizumi’s had not due to his suspension.

As he walked home he thought about the cocktail of emotions swirling in his stomach. Of course he was happy that he was going to be allowed to join as a council member and that he would be able to run for class representative, but a voice in the back of his head told him that he wouldn’t be able to do it. Iwaizumi wasn’t going to be there to support him, which already was a loss in its own right. Iwaizumi’s support had been the thing that allowed him to get this far in the first place. How would he be able to accomplish his goal without Iwaizumi’s help.

One glance at his house’s driveway revealed that his mother still hadn’t made it home so Oikawa didn’t even bother to stop there, instead b-lining it to Iwaizumi’s house. Throwing his schoolbag in a corner he shouted out a quick, “I’m back.”

From the living room Oikawa heard a grunt of confirmation. Waltzing in he found Iwaizumi laying on the couch reading an american comic book Iwaizumi was fond of, specifically the _City of Owls_ volume of Batman _._ Oikawa found it terribly boring, preferring things like _Kon-El: young Justice_ and _Teen Titans._

“Iwa-channnnnnn~” Oikawa whined and sat down with his back against the couch.

“How was school? Anything happen?” Iwaizumi closed the comic, giving Oikawa his full attention. The worry was obvious to see on his face and Oikawa’s chest warmed knowing that Iwaizumi cared.

“I think I was in the Twilight Zone Iwa-chan,” Oikawa admitted, “I ate lunch with Ushiwaka!” Oikawa regaled Iwaizumi with the tale of how he’d be coerced into a lunch with his greatest rival, he may have exaggerated things just a bit, but it was worth it to hear Iwaizumi’s little laughs and see the other smile. “And sensei asked me to stay after class. He told me that my application had been accepted, and that I could run for student rep if I wanted,” Oikawa said smiling brightly. In the time that he’d told his story, Iwaizumi had moved over so they could sit on the couch together.

“That’s great!” Iwaizumi hugged him from his side, “Did they say anything about mine?” Oikawa frowned and bit his lip. “They rejected it didn’t they?” Iwaizumi’s voice held only a small bit of disappointment, he’d been expecting as much.

“It’s dumb! Just because those guys wanted to fight-”

Iwaizumi cut him off before he could continued, “It’s school policy nothing we can change about it now. Guess I’ll just have to help you out from the sideline.” Oikawa’s curious gaze spurred him on, “What did you really think I was gonna let you do this on your own if I didn’t make the cut? I can still help you with stuff even if I don’t have all the official responsibilities. Even if I didn’t want to you’d just leave things around here anyway, might as well help.”

Oikawa leaned on Iwaizumi’s shoulder, “Iwa-chan will follow me anywhere, won’t he?”

Iwaizumi snorted, “If I don’t you’ll end up overworking yourself and getting hurt.” He reached for _City of Owls_ again and opened it up from the beginning. Together they sat in silence, reading the comic that Oikawa found far more compelling when it came paired with being that close to Iwaizumi.

And that’s how Iwaizumi’s parents found them hours later. The comic laid forgotten on Iwaizumi’s chest as they both were fast asleep on the couch. Iwaizumi’s parents decided to let them rest and took care of dinner. Oikawa was allowed to stay the night again, and as always the two friends shared a bed.

The next day Iwaizumi joined him at school, just like his mother had said, but the other boys were still gone. Over the next couple days Oikawa and Iwaizumi both found themselves making more friends. Most people seemed genuinely surprised by Oikawa’s friendly nature and Iwaizumi’s gruffy yet caring demeanor. By the time the other suspended kids returned to the school, Oikawa had a army of fangirls protecting his name from further slander.

It was a relief really. Oikawa no longer dreaded going to school and instead looked forward to it. Over the course of a month he campaigned to become their grades class representative, Iwaizumi supporting him silently from behind. He won by a narrow margin, but he won nonetheless. It marked a shift in the overall attitude the student body approached him with. Of course there were still rumors, but most of them died quickly and outside of his notice.

Oikawa’s relationship with Ushijima also changed. At first both Oikawa and Iwaizumi were wary of Ushijima, over the years they had all been training under The Greatness™ Ushijima had never held back his harsh criticism and had never once not taken the opportunity to show off. After actually speaking with him in a few normal conversations, prompted but their coach, Oikawa and Iwaizumi realized that Ushijima was just blunt, socially unaware, and always gave 100% in everything he did. Both boys had been baffled by the discovery.

After the realization a budding rivalry formed, Iwaizumi and Oikawa resorted to teasing rather than snappy comebacks, and Ushijima actually started to give constructive criticism. If anyone asked Oikawa and Iwaizumi could claim that Ushijima was their greatest rival, but Ushijima would simply comment that the other two were good friends of his.

* * *

 

Years flew by and it became about the time for them to apply to high schools. Iwaizumi and Oikawa both applied to Shiketsu High School, the highest ranking hero school in all of Japan. If they wanted to become pro heroes, Shiketsu was their best bet. Of course they also applied to a backup, they chose U.A. High, a rapidly growing school closer to their home, in recent years more and more pro heroes that made it came from U.A.

Oikawa was resting in his room when the acceptance letters came in. Eagerly Oikawa tore open both of them. U.A came first, they had accepted him, but into the general course, not the hero course. Frowning Oikawa worried about what his chances at the Shiketsu Hero course were if _U.A_. hadn’t accepted him into theirs. Taking a deep breath he ripped open the second letter.

30 seconds later his mother rushed to his bedroom door, alarmed by the intense high pitched screeching coming from her son’s room. Tearing the door open she saw Oikawa rolling around on the floor grinning from ear to ear. Seeing his mother Oikawa jumped and hugged her, “They accepted me into the hero course!”

“That’s… great honey,” his mother told him, awkwardly patting his back, “If you got your letters, shouldn’t Hajime-kun have his as well?” Oikawa blinked a few times and let what she said sink in. Peeling herself out of her son’s grasp she said, “Why don’t you go celebrate with him?”

Just as excited as before Oikawa nodded and grabbed the letters, “I’ll stay at Iwa-chan’s house tonight!”  

He barely heard the, “Alright sweetie,” before he was out the door.

Oikawa slammed the front door of Iwaizumi’s house open and didn’t even take a moment to greet Iwaizumi’s parents when he rushed past the living room. Ripping open his friend’s bedroom door he exclaimed, “Iwa-chan did you get your… letters?...” Oikawa’s inquiry trailed off towards the end seeing his friend’s state.

Iwaizumi was sitting in the center of his room frantically wiping away tears, two letters in his grasp. “Shiketsu rejected my application,” Iwaizumi said it simply, clearly, but it took longer than it should’ve for it to click in Oikawa’s mind.

 _This wasn’t supposed to happen. We were supposed to go together, you said you’d follow me anywhere._ But now he couldn’t. Iwaizumi wouldn’t be able to follow him. Mustering the best reassuring smile he could in the moment Oikawa carefully crushed Shikitsu’s letter behind his back and hid it in his back pocket, “They rejected my application to.” The crocodile tears came easily and he sat down next to Iwaizumi, holding him close. “What about U.A.?”

“Got accepted into their hero course,” Iwaizumi mumbled out.

 _Why did fate hate him?_ Oikawa had to wonder, “I got into their general course.”

Iwaizumi’s went wide and he quickly tried to speak, “Oikawa I’m-”

Oikawa cut him off “I can always transfer into the hero course later, as long as I keep up to date on what you guys are studying, you can help me with that right?” _Just this once let me follow you._

“Of course,” Iwaizumi pulled Oikawa in closer, “I’ll be there for you every step of the way.” It was then that Oikawa let the real tears fall. It was then that he realized he’d do anything to keep Iwaizumi by his side. He’d throw away the chance to go to his dream school. He’d use his quirk to hurt others. He’d burn down the world if Iwaizumi asked, just to see the flames reflecting in his eyes.

And why?

Because he loved him.

* * *

 

“I heard you were going to U.A,” Ushijima had cornered Oikawa in the gym’s changing room. Iwaizumi was nowhere in sight.

“Yeah so?” Oikawa asked defensively.

Ushijima frowned, “My father works at Shiketsu, he said you rejected their offer. Are you choosing not to go because of Iwaizumi?” For a musclehead, Ushijima was observant.

“You aren’t allowed to ever tell him I rejected Shiketsu’s offer, do you understand?” Oikawa hissed, for the first time using his quirk to make another keep silent. In response Ushijima gave him a confused nod. Without another word Oikawa pushed past him and into the gym where Iwaizumi was waiting for him.

“What was that about? Ushiwaka looked more serious than normal, which is saying something,” Iwaizumi commented as they begun their stretching routine.

“Ah it’s nothing Iwa-chan, just Ushiwaka professing his undying love to me,” Oikawa teased. Iwaizumi slapped Oikawa upside the head, “Ow Iwa-chan that hurttttttt.”

“Then don’t be a dumbass,” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes.

Oikawa smiled, but it feel when he caught Ushijima’s eye as he exited the changing room. Unbeknownst to Oikawa, there was a fury in his own eyes. Ushijima saw it and held his gaze. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, but inevitably someone called out for Ushijima and he diverted his attention, but not without a heated glance at Iwaizumi.

* * *

 

Their first day at U.A. was stressful to say the least. Oikawa’s heart beat a million times in a span of a second as he stared at the huge building. Iwaizumi stood steadfast next to him, but Oikawa could see the cracks even in his seemingly unbreakable armor. Iwaizumi was fiddling the loose string on his backpack that he refused to replace even after three years of use. It was one of the tell tale signs that Iwaizumi was just as nervous as him, which ironically actually helped to calm Oikawa.

“This is it Iwa-chan, this is where we take the first step to becoming heroes,” Oikawa breathed.

Iwaizumi smirked, “If we don’t start taking actual steps we’ll be late for the first day of class.” They both let out small laughs and shared nervous smiled before walking towards the entrance.

Once inside they both looked at each other frowning. “Looks like this is where we part ways Iwa-chan,” Oikawa did his best to pull up a smile, “You better take good notes for me.”

“What else do you expect?” Iwaizumi answered. With a final nod, Oikawa turned down the left hallway. Iwaizumi watched him go, staring longingly at Oikawa’s back with a glint of guilt in his eyes.

Oikawa didn’t take note of his friend’s remorseful gaze, focusing instead on getting to class on time. He entered the classroom confidently. Most of his fellow classmates were already engaged in conversation and only a few even spared him a glance. Oikawa spotted an empty desk near the front of the class by the window.

Setting his stuff down on the desk he decided to observe the people he would hopefully only be spending the next year with. In the middle of his little observation session someone tapped his shoulder from behind.

Oikawa languidly turned his body to address the person behind him. The boy had a nice smile, a mole under his left eye and pretty silver hair. For some reason he looked familiar to Oikawa. The boy spoke first, “Hey, my name’s Sugawara Koushi, but most people call me Suga. I’m an empath healer.”

 _Sugawara_ , that was the name of one of his mother’s coworkers. The man had come home a few times with his mother when he was younger. He’d always asked Oikawa about his health. Suga looked alot like the man if Oikawa’s memory was to be trusted, so he assumed that there was some relation there.

“Oikawa Tooru,” he responded easily.

Sugawara gave him a curious look, “And your quirk?”

Oikawa’s mind blanked for a second, his immediate reaction being that he should lie, but if the last two years of junior high had taught him anything it was that he should be proud of his quirk. After all The Greatness™ had said so himself. “Mind control,” the words tasted weird in his mouth and fear took hold of him as he watched Sugawara’s face morph through a couple different emotions.

Suga’s expression settled on intrigue, “That’s interesting. Could you show me how it works?”

Out of all the reactions and questions Oikawa had been expecting, that was not one. “Um… sure, are you giving me permission to use my quirk on you?” Oikawa asked for clarification. Sugawara nodded excitedly. Oikawa thought for a moment, “Sugawara, take out a paper and pen and write down your favorite place to study.” Without hesitation Sugawara reached into his desk and pulled out the mentioned items. In neat writing Sugawara wrote down ‘The Karasuno Cafe’.

Oikawa hummed in approval, “You should take me there some time.” The smile on his face was strained as he waited for Sugawara’s reaction once again.

“That’s so cool,” Sugawara exclaimed, surprising Oikawa, “Does it have any limits?”

“I can’t tell anyone to hurt themselves,” the lie came easily, Oikawa and Iwaizumi had practiced it days beforehand. If he listened closely he could hear a few of his classmates let out relieved breaths.

The teacher entered the room not long after and began class. The entire day was spent with various teachers coming and explaining their syllabi to the students. It was dreadfully boring if Oikawa had to admit, he could only wonder what the students in the hero course were up to.

* * *

 

“It was so cool! They let us use our quirks to test out their limitations! It was amazing watching everyone be able to just cut loose and do what they wanted!” As it turned out Iwaizumi’s first day of class was the exact opposite of Oikawa’s in terms of hype. Oikawa listened dutifully, doing his best to hide the small amount of resentment building inside him while Iwaizumi recapped his day.

“That sounds like a lot of fun Iwa-chan, where did you rank?” Oikawa mused, doodling in his notebook to try and hide his vaguely jealous expression.

Iwaizumi took notice of Oikawa’s lack of energy and frowned a bit, “Top five in the class for most of the stuff. How was your day?”

Oikawa mentally kicked himself to ruining Iwaizumi’s good mood, “Boring actually, but that was to be expected. I made a friend, Suga, were going out to eat this weekend, I asked if I could bring a friend. We could finally check out that Karasuno place that opened.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Iwaizumi responded, digging in his backpack he pulled out some papers, “I got another kid to give me their syllabus, they don’t even seem like they wanna be at U.A., Asahi I think his name was? He was practically shaking anytime Sensei asked him to do anything.”

Oikawa gratefully took the syllabus and started to read through it. “Anything else interesting happen?” Oikawa asked genuinely curious now. Iwaizumi’s eager smile returned and he continued to tell Oikawa about his day.

Sugawara had already gotten them a table by the time Iwaizumi and Oikawa arrived at the Karasuno Cafe. He called them over with a wave of his hand and bright smile on his face. As Iwaizumi and Oikawa took their seats Sugawara introduced himself, “It’s nice to meet you Iwaizumi-kun. Sugawara Koushi, but feel free to just call me Suga.”

“Just Iwaizumi is fine.”  

Everyone picked up a menu and Oikawa tried to stir up some conversation, “Kou-chan’s an empath and healer, not sure if I told you that Iwa-chan.”

Iwaizumi’s eyes shot up to look at Oikawa and he raised a brow, “Kou-chan?” his voice sounded somewhat betrayed, but Iwaizumi cleared his throat and continued with a more usual annoyed tone, “You’ve already given him a dumb nickname?”

Oikawa took note of the change in Iwaizumi’s voice and filed it away for later. Gasping loudly he said, “My nicknames a gift to be cherished!”

“Sure they are,” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and turned back to the menu.

Sugawara snickered and Oikawa let out another offended squawk. “So Iwaizumi, hows the hero course? Oikawa’s telling me about how you’re keeping him up to date.”

“It’s a lot of physical hands on stuff, so it’s kind of hard to supplement, but Oikawa’s so determined to transfer that I’m basically doing all the exercises twice,” Iwaizumi explained.

“They don’t know what they're missing out on putting me in the general course,” Oikawa budded in, “By next year they’ll have me begging to transfer.”

Sugawara laughed again, “I can see that happening.”

“What are your plans Suga? Are you gonna try and transfer?” Iwaizumi asked.

With a contemplative look Sugawara struggled for the words to describe his situation, “There aren’t really any courses for what I want to do. My quirk isn’t suited for battle, but I still want to be able use it to help people. The general course is the broadest option and you can still get a license to use your quirk in certain fields if you complete the program. I wanna start a company that goes to the aftermath of hero villain fights and helps the civilians that were affected.”

Iwaizumi nodded in awe, “I’ve never really thought about the aftermath, is there not a kind of group that does that already.”

Sugawara shook his head, “Not one that does it year around. Mostly its non profits and such, I want to get it funded by the government. My dad works for the quirk research bureau, and I’ve talked to him about getting approval before.”

“That’s pretty ambitious Kou-chan,” Oikawa teased.

“Almost as amitious as you Shittykawa,” Iwaizumi remarked.

Oikawa punched Iwaizumi lightly on the shoulder, “We’re both becoming number 1 heroes.”

“Isn’t that kind of an oxymoron? There can only be one number 1,” Sugawara questions.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi shared a brief look before shrugging. “We’ll figure it out when we get there,” Oikawa went back to reading the menu and something immediately caught his attention, “Iwa-chan, they have something called galaxy cake! We have to try it.”

“What happened to starting a ‘balanced diet’?” Iwaizumi asked.

Sugawara raised a brow, “He’s been eating nothing but milk bread for lunch since we started class.”

“What the fuck Shittykawa,” Iwaizumi glared at Oikawa.

“Kou-channnnnn, you weren’t supposed to tell him” Oikawa whined and tried to justify himself, “I don’t have time to make lunch in the mornings. And the we stop by the bakery every morning anyway.” Over the past couple days Oikawa had been sleeping in his own house after training upon his mother’s request, which meant no free lunches made by Iwaizumi’s father.

“You have to actually eat something that’s not sweets for lunch,” Iwaizumi scolded his friend. Sugawara watched with a glint of amusement in his eyes. The rest of the time was spent with the three boys getting to know each other better. By the time they were ready to leave the sun was already beginning to set.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa said their goodbyes to Sugawara before bringing their own walk home. “So what did you think of Kou-chan?” Oikawa asked.

Oikawa once again noticed how Iwaizumi winced a bit again at the nickname, but Iwaizumi responded positively nonetheless, “He’s really nice and seems responsible. I’m glad that I won’t have to worry about you with him watching your back.”

Oikawa dramatically placed a hand on his chest, pouting a bit as he said, “I have literally never done anything wrong in my life and I am offended that you think I would cause trouble for my class.”

Iwaizumi’s rolled his eyes, but smiled a bit, “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah... everyone’s pretty nice actually. No one’s tried accusing me of anything yet. It’s almost weird you know? Like I’m actually a normal student,” Oikawa shrugged.

“You _are_ a normal student, just like everyone else,” Iwaizumi nudged Oikawa’s side. Oikawa shot Iwaizumi a grateful smile and they continued their walk in silence.

The next morning Iwaizumi and Oikawa met up outside of their houses as usual, only this time Iwaizumi shoved a bento into Oikawa’s arms. The only explanation he gave was, “I told my dad that you haven’t been eating.” Oikawa didn’t think much of it until lunch time.

“No milk bread today Oikawa?” Sugawara teased lightly.

“Iwa-chan’s told his dad I wasn’t eating, so he made me lunch.” Oikawa took one bite of the rice and started coughing violently. Sugawara clapped Oikawa’s back to stop him from choking.

“Everything ok?” Sugawara asked worried.

“Yeah just… the rice is overdone and there’s way too much seasoning,” Oikawa coughed a little bit more. Looking at the bento now Oikawa realized that it didn’t look as well put together as usual. Suddenly the memory of a conversation from a few weeks ago came to the forefront of his mind.

He was spending the night at Iwaizumi’s house, and Iwaizumi’s parents were telling Iwaizumi that he’d be making his own lunches from then on. Something about learning how to take care of himself. At the time Oikawa had brushed it off, his mother had told him that he wasn’t allowed to stay at Iwaizumi’s house at school nights anymore so he’d already given up on the hope of deliciously crafted lunches. Looking down at his lunch once more he couldn’t help but smile.

“Are you sure you should keep eating that? It almost killed you,” Sugawara tried to stop Oikawa from taking another bite.

“It’s fine Kou-chan,” Oikawa responded. He continued to eat the meal that Iwaizumi’s dad had definitely not prepared.

* * *

 

The letter came on a night where he was cooking dinner for himself, his mother and Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi’s parents were out on a second honeymoon and Oikawa’s mother had allowed Iwaizumi to stay at their house for the duration of their trip.

Considering Iwaizumi’s useless attempts at making them lunch, Oikawa had opted to start getting up earlier to make them instead. Which was also why Iwaizumi wasn’t allowed in the kitchen while Oikawa was cooking. Iwaizumi had dropped off the letter before being shooed out to go do homework instead.

Iwaizumi helped with setting up the dinner table and bringing out all the food. Oikawa shouted through the house to his mother that the food was ready and got a loud grunt of confirmation in return. Iwaizumi and Oikawa had already begun to eat by to eat by the time Oikawa’s mom joined them.

“So, I got my letter back from U.A. about the hero course,” Oikawa started. Iwaizumi, who had already known and had been watching Oikawa’s face for any clues since he’d exited the kitchen, nodded. Oikawa’s mother only gave a hum of acknowledgement, not lifting her gaze from her iPad while shoveling food in her mouth. Oikawa knew that was about all the interest he would get from her, “They said I’m at the top of the waiting list for transfering into the hero course. Their at full capacity right now, but as soon as someone drops or flunks I’m allowed to attend.”

Iwaizumi couldn’t help the sigh of relief and smile afterwards, “That’s great. I know a couple kids that’ll probably drop during the next year.”

Oikawa nodded but before he could even say anything else his mother spoke up, “That’s nice Tooru, but I still don’t understand why you didn’t go to Shiketsu and are dealing with this whole mess instead.”

The room went deathly silent. Oikawa stared straight ahead at his mother, to afraid to look at his friend who, by now, must’ve realized that Oikawa had _lied_ to him. “I’m sorry Oikawa-san, but didn’t Shiketsu reject Oikawa’s application?” Iwaizumi’s voice was strained, barely holding back the seething anger bubbling beneath the surface.

Oikawa’s mother finally looked up from her iPad. Giving Iwaizumi a perplexed look, “No, I remember him being ecstatic when he got the letters.” Never had Oikawa felt like he wanted to both just disappear and strangle someone as intensely as he did in that moment, but he was frozen in place, afraid that if he moved Iwaizumi would realize that he was actually there and start yelling at him.

The sharp sound of chair scratching wood filled the small dining room. “I’m not very hungry anymore, I think I’m going to turn in early,” Iwaizumi picked up his plate and walked towards the kitchen.

Oikawa heard him leave, still unable to get himself to move. His mother turned her puzzled gaze to him, “Is everything alright with Hajime-kun?”

 _No. No it isn’t, maybe you’d know that if you actually payed attention for once._ “I don’t know, I’ll go check on him,” Oikawa quickly shuffled out of his seat, abandoning his dinner. His mother simply picked up her plate and left to go eat in her office.

Oikawa crept into the kitchen. Peering through the door he saw Iwaizumi angrily scrubbing the dishes. Taking a deep breath Oikawa fully entered the room. If Iwaizumi heard him he didn’t acknowledge Oikawa’s presence.

“Iwa-chan…” Oikawa whispered. Iwaizumi paused for a second, only to continue with renewed vigor. “I’m sor-”

Iwaizumi slammed down the pot he was washing. In a flash he turned around and stalked towards Oikawa, pinning him against the wall. “No, you don’t get to say that.” The distance between them was practically nonexistent. Oikawa was close enough to see the rage filled tears gathering in Iwaizumi’s brilliant emerald eyes. “Oikawa you fuck. I don’t know what the hell to be upset about,” the tears started falling, “The fact that you _lied_ to me, or that you threw away your dream without even telling me. We’ve been running around worrying about getting you into the hero course when you had the opportunity to go to a better school’s the entire time. You can’t just do shit like that, you put everything you worked for in danger and why? Why the hell would you do that?”

Every word out of Iwaizumi’s mouth was a knife in Oikawa’s stomach. “I…” Oikawa searched for something Iwaizumi would find acceptable, anything but the truth.

“Tell me the truth,” Iwaizumi demanded.

That one sentence was enough to break Oikawa. If he lied again, Iwaizumi would know, and Oikawa wouldn’t be able to take the consequences that came with that. So he spoke honestly, “I didn’t want to leave you.” A part of Oikawa hoped that the loud rumbling of the air vent covered up his confession.

“What?” Iwaizumi croaked out.

Oikawa’s heart clenched painfully, this was it, there was no going back, “If I went to Shiketsu, I would have to leave you behind. I couldn’t imagine a world where you weren’t right there beside me.” His own tears started falling and Oikawa tried to hide them behind his bangs by looking at the ground.

There was silence again. Everything around him felt cold, Iwaizumi was so close but still too far. Oikawa felt sharp stings on each of his palms. Looking down at them he saw nothing, but Iwaizumi’s clenched fists caught his eye. Reaching out he took Iwaizumi’s hands into his own, prying them open.

Little bright red crescent marks littered Iwaizumi’s palm. Oikawa gently brushed his fingers over the marks, “Be more careful Iwa-chan.”

“Why?” Iwaizumi asked again.

“I told you I-”

“Why can’t you see a future without me?” Iwaizumi cut him off.

Oikawa’s mind blanked once again. He’d been hoping to avoid that topic, preferably for the rest of his life. He was in deep already, so why not keep everything rolling, the night wasn’t going to end well either way. “Because I love you Hajime.”

Oikawa could hear the audible hitch in Iwaizumi’s breathing. His heart skipped more than a few beats while he waited for Iwaizumi to pull his hands away in disgust, but it never happened. Instead Iwaizumi pulled him closer and murmured into his shoulder, “You fucking idiot.” Oikawa couldn’t help the laugh that broke from him, it sounded hysterical, delusional. Iwaizumi lightly punched him in the side, “Don’t laugh.”

Oikawa wasn’t sure what to think of the situation, so he just held Iwaizumi close and waited. What for he didn’t know, but Iwaizumi showed no sign of letting go. “Iwa-chan isn’t upset with me?” he had to ask.

“Course not,” Iwaizumi pulled himself away slightly, still holding onto Oikawa.

Stunning was the only word Oikawa could use to describe Iwaizumi. The tears in his eyes had dried up, and left behind glassy, shining pool of green. The grin he wore was brighter than the sun and reflecting the sheer amount of exhilaration coursing through Iwaizumi, it took Oikawa by surprise. Iwaizumi in Oikawa’s mind looked absolutely, positively, without a doubt perfect. “I just wish you would’ve told me sooner, I love you too Tooru.”

* * *

 

In their second year all students of U.A. were required to move into school dorms. Oikawa was somewhat upset when he learned that he would be in a completely different building than his boyfriend (he still couldn’t get over the fact that he could use that word) all the way across the campus.

No longer was it a brisk 30 second walk from door to door, but instead a 15 minute walk filled with stairs and a detours to avoid crowds. More often than not one of them would stay in the other’s dorm for the night, and it didn’t take long for their closets to mix once again. The entirety of the general and hero course students became familiar with seeing Iwaizumi and Oikawa walking around their building and stopped asking questions.

It was after school in Oikawa’s dorm that Sugawara laid exhausted over Oikawa’s computer chair. “We did it, we have enough signatures,” Sugawara exclaimed breathlessly.

Oikawa stared at the multiple pages stacked on his desk from his spot laying on the bed and grinned. “400 student signatures, 20 staff members, including department heads. Let’s see them say no to that.”

“500,” Iwaizumi muttered as he let himself into the room. He slammed another paper onto the pile, “Got everyone in the hero dorms to sign, some upperclassmen too.”

The stack of papers had been a petition to allow students from every course, not just the hero course, to participate in the main event of the yearly U.A. sports festival. Usually the general and business classes would be relegated to manning stands that sold food, or helping seat people. Oikawa had been furious when he’d found out the year before. So, when he went to complain to the principal, he’d been given a opportunity.

If he’d be able to prove that all students and even staff were interested in opening the main event of the sports festival up to other courses, than the principal would consider doing so. Iwaizumi and Sugawara had immediately taken to supporting Oikawa. After many, many presentations to staff members outside of school hours, and even more man hours spent collecting signatures from upper, and lowerclassmen alike, they’d finally done it.

Oikawa squealed in excitement, “Thanks Iwa-chan.” Iwaizumi flopped down on the bed next to Oikawa and gave him a chaste kiss. Oikawa rolled onto Iwaizumi and started an eskimo kiss.

Sugawara smiled lazily and rolled his eyes, “Some of us are single you know.”

Oikawa rolled back off Iwaizumi and propped himself up on an elbow, “We could always sent you up with someone,” looking down at Iwaizumi Oikawa asked, “What’s the name of that one cute guys in your class? The one with the long hair?”

“Asahi,” Iwaizumi answered, “I think he’d be a good match for Suga.”

Sugawara hastily jumped up and grabbed the stack of papers, “I’m gonna go turn these into the principal's office,” one foot out the door he added, “If you guys are gonna start making out again, at least lock the door this time.” Oikawa threw a pillow at the door, but Sugawara closed it before it could hit it’s mark.

Oikawa nestled himself back into Iwaizumi’s arms, resting his head on the other’s chest. “I can’t believe we actually get all that paperwork done,” Oikawa mused.

Iwaizumi began to card his fingers mindlessly through Oikawa’s hair, “I can, you accomplish everything you set your mind to.”

Oikawa smiled, “Hey Iwa-chan~”

“Yeah?” Iwaizumi closed his eyes and enjoyed the time resting with his boyfriend.

Oikawa turned his head to look up at Iwaizumi. “I’m gonna kick your ass at the sports festival.”

Iwaizumi snorted, “I’d like to see you try.” He playfully ruffled Oikawa’s hair. In retaliation Oikawa rolled back onto Iwaizumi started tickeling his side. Iwaizumi curled into himself, knocking Oikawa off the bed, who grabbed onto Iwaizumi so they both fell onto the ground. There they wrestled for a while before collapsing into a fit of laughter.

“I’m gonna prove to everyone I belong in the hero course,” Oikawa proclaimed.

Iwaizumi intertwined their hands, “I’m not going to go easy on you.”

Oikawa smirked and leaned in a whispered, “You better not.”

* * *

 

The day of the tournament Oikawa was bouncing off of the walls with energy. Standing in the dark hallway, he prepared to walk out infront of a crowd numbering in the thousands. Sugawara stood next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, “Stop jumping around so much. Your making the other guys nervous.” Oikawa could feel Suga use his quirk to calm Oikawa’s jittery emotions.

Turning around he gave everyone a sheepish smile. This wasn’t just for him, he wasn’t the only out to prove that they had what it took to become pro heroes, despite what some arbitrary test said. Over the speakers he could hear their class being announced. Confidently he raised a fist and shouted, “Let’s show em what we’re made of!”

The class exited the hallway together, marching steadfast to their places holding their heads high. The cheers bolstered Oikawa’s confidence and he brought out his most charming smile, it’s the one he’d practiced on Iwaizumi when they were 13 and Iwaizumi had made him promise to never smile like that ever again. _Sorry Iwa-chan._

Someone Oikawa recognized from passings in the hallway gave a standard speech about camaraderie that put almost everyone to sleep. Thankfully the one of the staff members cut them off and took the mic.

“Thank you, Reina-san for that stirring speech. Now that we’ve announced our students, it’s time to announce our special guests,” everyone around Oikawa began to whisper to each other in confusion, “For our 10th year anniversary we’ve decided to invite the 2nd year hero course students from Shiketsu to attend this years sports festival. Please everyone give them a big welcome.” Sugawara had to elbow Oikawa to get him to start clapping as the Shiketsu students exited from one of the other hallways and took their place next to Oikawa’s class. Oikawa searched the students for a familiar face and soon caught Ushijima’s gaze. They stared at each other, refusing to give in and let the other win the impromptu staring contest.

A boy with bright red hair stepped between them though and got Ushijima to standing properly among his class. Oikawa kept an eye on them in his peripheral, but was forced to bring his attention back to the announcer.

The first part of the sports festival was announced to be an obstacle course set up to test everyone’s physical endurance. During the event Oikawa stayed towards the middle of the pack with Sugawara, knowing they wouldn’t be able to reach the top 10 without a physically powerful quirk.

After passing round one Oikawa noticed that Ushijima and the boy he say earlier had made it into the top 5. Before he was able to go talk to either of them they began announcements for round two. The set up was simple, they had to make groups of three to five and try to steal point totals in the form of headbands from other teams while connected as a single unit. Oikawa immediately found Iwaizumi and Sugawara. He spared a glance at Ushijima, but averted his gaze when the other actually looked over.

“Should we see if Ushiwaka needs a team?” Iwaizumi asked, because of course he saw Oikawa’s quick glance.

Oikawa waved the comment off, “Ushiwaka probably has a horde of mindless minions following him around at this point. Plus I want to prove to him that he’s not the best despite what he thinks.”

Iwaizumi smirked and nodded, “Let's put the powerhouse in his place.”

“Am I missing something here?” Sugawara butted in.

“Not much, just years of rivalry with the top student at Shiketsu,” Oikawa said plainly.

Sugawara looked to Iwaizumi for more information, “We trained under the same coach. A european hero called The Greatness™ .” A loud horn blared throughout the area telling everyone that they had one minute to decide on a strategy.

The plan was simple. Iwaizumi was their anchor, he’d cover himself in concrete to make their center or gravity heavier as a why to stabilize them, Sugawara would be on top grabbing points off of other people, and Oikawa would be in the back. He knew enough students names to be able to tell them to back off without drawing too much attention to himself.

They were able to get the second highest score out of every team, rocketing them up the leaderboard, surprising everyone. Staff members began to whisper quietly about the two general class students who made it into the final part of the event.

Oikawa and Sugawara stood proudly amongst the hero course students as the final event was announced. Just like every year it was decided they were to take part in a tournament. Everyone was told to draw lots to determine opponents. In the first round Oikawa would be up against Azumane Asahi, from Iwaizumi’s class. Iwaizumi would go next with his opponent being a student from Shiketsu that Oikawa recognized as the red hair boy by Ushijima, Tendou Satori. And Sugawara would be up against a girl from the other hero class, Shimizu Kiyoko, in one of the later rounds.

Oikawa’s match was to be held first. He and his opponent were given 10 minutes to prepare for the match. Oikawa was lead to a side room near the entrance to the area. Iwaizumi stayed with him, helping to calm his nerves.

“Should I use my quirk Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked quietly, almost as if he was ashamed to be asking in the first place.

Iwaizumi blinked a few times before shrugging, “I don’t see why you can’t. The sports festival is all about showing everyone what you’re capable of.”

Oikawa bit his lip, “What if they see it and they think that I’m not cut out to be a hero?”

“Anyone who thinks that is blind,” Iwaizumi sat down next to Oikawa, “If you want to use it go ahead, if not you’ll still kick ass.”

His coach’s words rang through his mind, ‘ _Use what was given to you.’_ “Thanks Iwa-chan, we should get going.” Iwaizumi nodded and intertwined his hand with Oikawa’s.

When they opened the door they were greeted by someone they hadn’t expected. “Ushiwaka it’s been a while,” Oikawa covered for an involuntary grimace with a sunny smile, “What are you going here?”

“I came to wish you good luck,” Ushijima said plainly, his gaze drifted to Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s intertwined hands. A hard frown settled on his face as he looked between the two of them.

“Thank Ushiwaka, but I don’t need it,” Oikawa slid past Ushijima only to come face to face with Tendou Satori.

“Wakatoshi-kun, you should introduce me to your old friends.” Oikawa’s smile faltered at the other’s cordial tone, it was somehow unsettling paired with the newcomer's… disconcerting appearance.

“Iwaizumi, Oikawa, this is Tendou Satori,” Ushijima pointed at the three of them in sequence, “Satori these are Oikawa and Iwaizumi.”

“Wakatoshi-kun has said so much about you two,” Tendou moved forward, getting into Oikawa’s personal space in a way that made him feel threatened. Oikawa didn’t know what to make of Ushijima’s new friend, his tone and actions didn’t quiet line up, and there was something about the way he looked at Oikawa that made him feel like he was being inspected.

Throwing all those thoughts to the back of his mind, Oikawa masked his unease with a painted on smile, “Aww, Ushiwaka talks about us? That’s sweet.”

Tendou tilted his head at an odd angle and blinked owlishly at Oikawa. The two remained locked in a staring contest. Iwaizumi had to shake Oikawa’s shoulder to get him to stop, “Your match starts soon Shittykawa.”

“Hmm… yeah,” Oikawa broke eye contact with Tendou. Iwaizumi led the way down the hall, tugging on Oikawa’s hand. “It was nice to meet you Tendou!” he called back waving.

 _Can’t wait to talk again._ Oikawa watch Tendou’s smile curl up on his face. His mouth hadn’t moved but Oikawa had heard the words clear as day.

“Telepath,” Oikawa mumbled beneath his breath.

“What was that?” Iwaizumi asked.

Oikawa shrugged it off, “I’ll tell you later, before your match.” When they reached the entrance Oikawa dusted himself off and asked, “How do I look?”

“Like you’re ready to take on the world,” Iwaizumi caressed Oikawa’s cheek and pulled him in so their foreheads were touching, “Now go show them what you’re made of.”

Heart beating faster than he ever thought possible Oikawa exited into the area. He took his time walking to the slab of concrete where the fight would take place, reveling in the way everyone watched his movements. This was his time, and he was going to prove himself.

Across from him stood Asahi. Oikawa had met him a few different times, Asahi was a nice enough guy, but didn’t seem to have the guts for hero work.

The announcer, laid out the rules plain and simple. There were three ways to win. Knock your opponent off the platform, knock them out, or they say they give up.

The match started with a loud blast over the area’s sound system. Asahi took a defensive stance across from him. Oikawa noted that his form was flawless, if Oikawa had any intention of trying to move him he’d most likely lose. Good thing he had no such plans.

Oikawa closed his eyes. Both Iwaizumi and Alex’s voices reaffirming his decision. Leisurely Oikawa stuffed his hands in his pockets and said, “Asahi, walk out of the ring.” Stiffly Asahi’s form straitened into a standing position. Without further prompting he turned and exited the area. The crowd watched in silence as the staff frantically rushed to get back on stage and announced Oikawa as the victor.

The audience took a moment to realize the match was over, no one really cheered and Oikawa felt doubts begin to surface. He hurried back to the preparation room after he was out of public sight. Opening the door to the room Oikawa was surprised for the second time that day to see someone. His coach stood across the room, speaking boisterously with Iwaizumi.

“Coach?” Oikawa let slip out.

“Tooru! That was a great match! I am proud,” Alex walked over to a confused Oikawa and gave him a bear hug.

Oikawa returned the hug mumbling, “I didn’t do anything,” under his breath.

“You used your quirk, that is big step,” Alex patted him on the back, “It is Iwaizumi’s turn next. We will send him off together, yes?” Oikawa nodded and allowed their coach to lead the way.

On their way Oikawa, tugged on Iwaizumi’s sleeve, “Before you go I figured out Tendou’s quirk. It’s-”

“It doesn’t matter,” Iwaizumi stopped him, “I’ll win no matter what.” With that he kissed Oikawa on the lips, “For good luck,” and made his way to the area.

Oikawa was left behind with their coach, slowly turning an unnatural shade of red. Alex simply laughed and bellowed, “Let us go watch.” They met up with Sugawara in the stands, introductions were quick and Oikawa waited with baited breath for the match to start.

And when it did, it was almost nowhere near as quick as Oikawa’s had been. Tendou’s movements were erratic, a majority of the fight was spent with iwaizumi on the defensive, but that didn’t mean he was at a disadvantage. From the moment the match started Iwaizumi had covered himself in concrete, so Tendou’s hits did more to hurt himself than Iwaizumi who stopped trying to predict the other’s movements after the 3rd failed attempt. Instead Iwaizumi allowed himself to be cornered before rushing his opponent and flipping him over the side.

Iwaizumi won and Oikawa doesn’t think anyone else was cheering as hard as he was. Iwaizumi joined them in the stands not long after and enjoyed a deserved victory kiss, much to Sugawara’s annoyance. The matched continued until finally Sugawara was called down.

Kiyoko’s quirk was of average strength, but her mastery of how it worked brought her up to S class. The ability to bend water to her will was frighteningly. Students were not allowed to bring outside materials into the area, unless specially requested and approved by both the staff and their opponent. So Kiyoko didn’t have her signature water flash at her side.

It should’ve made it a fairer fight, but in the end it didn't have much of an effect. At the start of the match Kiyoko squeezed the water out of the grass of the field around them, leaving behind crinkly brown stems. There was enough for her to create a thin whip, which she used to drive Sugawara backwards.

Sugawara was able to heal the micro cuts without much of a problem in seconds. After being beaten back for a whole he was able to find a single opening, ducking under the water and rushing Kiyoko, but in the end she’d been prepared. After a short physical clash, the whip became a shield that didn’t allow Suga through. Again he was beaten back, only this time, it was all the way out of the area.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi rushed to the hall where Sugawara would be. “Suga, you gave it your all,” was all Oikawa could say.

“But it wasn’t enough,” Sugawara smiled sadly, telling the truth he knew in his heart. Iwaizumi and Oikawa pulled him in for a group hug, and in the privacy of their hold, Sugawara let himself cry.

After helping Sugawara calm down and find his way back to the stands where the rest of his class was waiting, Iwaizumi and Oikawa went to go talk to the match officials. Their next match was against each other, and they wanted to be able to go all out.

They both prepared in separate rooms, not wanting to reveal any tricks from up their sleeves. When their eyes meet from across the arena, a unique form of excitement flowed through Oikawa like a coarsening energy, just crackling beneath the surface.

“Both participants have allowed the use of outside weaponry, so anything non lethal is allowed for the duration of this match. Without further ado, let's begin!” The blasting of the speakers started the match.

Without hesitance Oikawa pulled a bo shuriken out of his jacket sleeve and threw it at Iwaizumi. The second the blaring started Iwaizumi had already begun covering his skin in cement. Seeing the shuriken coming he dodged to the side so by the time the shuriken reached him it simply grazed past his cheek, leaving no damage.

Oikawa couldn’t help but smirk and teasingly remark, “Do me a favor and walk out of the ring for me, ne Iwa-chan?” Taking off his jacket, he let it fall near the edge of the ring.

“Not today pretty boy,” Iwaizumi taunted and took a defensive stance.

Oikawa rushed him, intentionally aiming for places he knew Iwaizumi wasn’t the best at covering. He got a few hits in before Iwaizumi found the flaws in Oikawa’s form. Slowly but surely he beat Oikawa back.

They reached the edge of the ring and Oikawa caught both of Iwaizumi’s hands. They pushed against each other, trying to unstabilize the other’s center of gravity. They ended up with their foreheads pressed up against each other with their arms up beside their heads. “That all you got Oikawa? You usually have some kind of trick up your sleeve,”  Iwaizumi commented.

“Who says I don't?” Oikawa shot right back. He glanced down at the jacket under their feet and Iwaizumi followed his line of sight. Oikawa smirked and shifted so he could flip their positions around. Iwaizumi was caught off guard and Oikawa took the opportunity to put him in a headlock. Iwaizumi clawed at Oikawa’s arm but it didn’t budge. Slowly Iwaizumi felt his cement layer fall off him as he was no longer in contact with the floor, and instead onto of Oikawa’s jacket.

Iwaizumi could feel Oikawa tighten his grip and he had to think fast. He felt something dig in unevenly at the side of his neck. It was the bracelet he’d made for Oikawa when they were younger. An idea formed in his head, using the rocks on the bracelet he created a thin line over his throat, and pretended to fall unconscious.

Oikawa focused on breathing normally, not willing to let himself get caught up in Iwaizumi’s feeling of losing air he preempted it with slow and long intakes of breath. Slowly Iwaizumi stopped struggling and Oikawa loosened his grip, sure that Iwaizumi had passed out. An apology on his lips he prepared to let the other down, but Iwaizumi’s hand shot around to grab the back of Oikawa’s shirt and flipped him over the edge of the ring.

 _Falling. I’m falling_ . Oikawa’s mind screamed at him as the feeling of weightlessness took over. The slam on the ground took the air out of him and Oikawa couldn’t figure out how to to get it back again. Desperately he gasped and gasped for air, but it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t breath. The word started spinning and there were hands on him. _Get away._ He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. Everything was happening to fast. To slow. Everything needed to stop.

Someone was moving him, carrying him. Everything got darker. Was he inside, he couldn’t tell anymore. “Oikawa.” Too loud. They were too loud. “Tooru,” the voice was softer that time, almost pleading. “I’m here for you.” Slowly he figured out how to breath again. “That’s it, in and out.”

“Haji-me?” Oikawa whimpered softly.

“Yeah I’m here,” Iwaizumi had him wrapped in a blanket and was holding him close.

Oikawa let himself melt into Iwaizumi, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.”

“You had a panic attack,” it was a new voice, it was difficult but Oikawa lifted his head and saw that it was Sugawara speaking. His expression was worried, like he wanted to come over and hug Oikawa but couldn't.

“A panic attack?” Oikawa was baffled, he’d never had any problem with panic attacks before.

“Yeah,” Sugawara murmured, “Is there anything you thought of when the match ended? Anything that might have caused it?”

Oikawa thought back, the feeling of weightlessness, “The feeling that I was falling.”

Sugawara looked surprised and Iwaizumi tightened his hold on Oikawa. “I’m sorry,” Iwaizumi whispered into Oikawa’s hair.

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t know. I didn’t know.” Gradually Oikawa’s senses returned to normal and he heard the announcers right outside of the hallway. “Iwa-chan your next match…”

“Doesn’t matter, as soon as you’re ready, I’m taking you back to the dorms,” Iwaizumi’s tone left no room for argument.

But Oikawa wouldn’t be Oikawa if he didn’t try, “I’m not going to let you throw away your chance to make a good impression infront of the pros. You have to go.”

“I’m not leaving you. There’s always next year anyway,” Iwaizumi’s expression was determined, and Oikawa felt his heart drop as he realized there was no convincing Iwaizumi at that point, “Can you stand?”

Oikawa lifted himself a bit and nodded. Iwaizumi helped him up the rest of the way. Sugawara still remained detached from the two of them and Oikawa gave him a quizzical look. “You uh… told me to ‘get away’ earlier,” Sugawara mumbled shyly.

Oikawa’s heart caught in his throat. _Get away from me!_ His childhood voice screamed on repeat inside his mind. Shaking himself out of it Oikawa apologized, “Sorry, Kou-chan forget that I said ‘get away’.” Sugawara blinked a few times before frowning and coming to help support Oikawa. Iwaizumi and Sugawara helped Oikawa back to his room.

“Suga, you should go watch the rest of the competition,” Iwaizumi insisted.

“I can stay-” Sugawara tried to protest, but the look on Iwaizumi’s face told him that Iwaizumi had something he wanted to speak with Oikawa privately about, “If you need me just call.” Iwaizumi nodded and closed the door behind him.

Turning back to Oikawa, who was now sitting on his bed staring at his feet, Iwaizumi let out a sigh. It caught Oikawa’s attention and he looked up. “Oikawa, do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really, but…” Oikawa bit his lip, “You deserve to know after dealing with that.”

“I don’t deserve anything, let's get that straight ok?” Iwaizumi reassured his boyfriend. He sat down next to him on the bed and wrapped an arm around him, “Anything you want to tell me is going to be at your pace.”

“Iwa-chan… do you know how my quirk works?” Oikawa asked, Iwaizumi shook his head no, “When I tell people to do things, if they get hurt I feel it. When we were kids, do you remember me telling you that you don’t have to listen to everything I say?”

“Vaguely,” Iwaizumi answered, “Is that why you’re quirk doesn’t work on me anymore?”

Nodding Oikawa carried on, “Every time you get a fever, or a cold, every time you fight someone and get hurt. I can feel those things.”

“Oikawa I’m so-”

“Let me finish Iwa-chan,” Oikawa shut him down with a glare, “Over time I’ve learned how to separate the pain from my own. It hurts but I can trick myself into dulling it. I… when I discovered my quirk, that night on the roof. I told those men to get away from me,” Oikawa’s body began to involuntarily shake and Iwaizumi held him closer, “They did. They kept walking back and back and back. Right of the side of the roof. I felt that fall. I felt the crash. I felt them die. I killed them.”

All was silent, Oikawa could only hear the beating of his own heart.

Suddenly, Iwaizumi shifted them so he could look Oikawa in the eyes. Taking Oikawa’s face into his hands he searched Oikawa’s eyes for something. Oikawa reached up absentmindedly to hold onto Iwaizumi’s wrists and avoid direct eye contact, “I’m a murder.”

“You were 6,” Iwaizumi contradicted, “You didn’t know what was going on. And had you not done anything in that moment… Oikawa you could’ve actually died.”

Oikawa had never thought about it before. He could’ve died that night. Seeing his words get through to Oikawa Iwaizumi continued, “You telling me this doesn’t change the fact that I love you. Thank you for tell me.”

Oikawa’s face morphed into a wobbly smile and he launched himself at Iwaizumi. The rest of the day was spent whispering quiet ‘I love yous’ with the muted sounds of cheering crowds in the background.

* * *

 

“Hey Oikawa, do you think that petition system would work for setting up a whole new course?” that had been the last question Oikawa had expected to come out of Sugawara’s mouth on a lazy Sunday afternoon during spring break.

Oikawa thought about it for a second, “Not sure. We could try though.”

And try the did. They went to the principal with over 600 student signatures, 50 staff members on board and a powerpoint presentation in hand. Needless to say they were very convincing. Later that month it was announced that U.A. would be piloting a Support Class program, the first of its kind in all of Japan.

* * *

 

Field trips have always been the favorite school sponsored activity for students and U.A. had a lot of field trips when it came to the hero class, less so when it came to the general course students. Which is why when they were invited to join the hero classes on a field trip to go on the newly developed and launched Helicarrier, most of the class lost their minds.

All but one lone students who was dreading the day he’d have to take to the sky in a metal bird.

The day came and Oikawa clung to Iwaizumi like a child to its mother. Not even Sugawara’s teasing could calm his nerves. Oikawa was never one for showing fear, and any insinuation that he was _afraid_ was met with verbal backlash.

“Are you sure you want to do this Oikawa?” Iwaizumi questioned, “You can still stay on the ground with one of the teachers.” Oikawa took a glance at all the shaparones that had come along, they all appeared to be just as eager to get on the Helicarrier as the students.

“No, I’ll be fine. They say it’s like solid ground anyway, I just have to avoid windows,” Oikawa shrugged of Iwaizumi’s worry. Determined not to ruin another school event for his boyfriend.

Someone caught a glimpse of the aircraft before everyone else and fervently started to point it out. The energy shared by the student body did nothing to calm Oikawa, if anything it wound him up even tighter.

Once it had landed, the students were allowed to board and begin exploring. Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and Sugawara waited until the everyone else had gotten on, a teacher remained with them. It was a faculty member who had been warned of Oikawa’s previous experiences with heights, and was trained to help deal with anxiety and panic attacks.

Sugawara stepped on first leading the way. Oikawa held on desperately to Iwaizumi’s hand, he was gripping it so hard he could feel it on his own hand. Taking a deep breath Oikawa allowed Iwaizumi to guide him forward. They made it all the way up the ramp before Oikawa’s gaze drifted too far down and he started to hyperventilate. The teacher quickly approached and brought Oikawa and Iwaizumi back to the ground.

Oikawa was shaking violently and the teacher told the group, “It’s best if he stays on the ground. You two go ahead and join the rest of your classes, I’ll stay here with him.”

“I’ll stay too,” Iwaizumi volunteered himself.

Guilt wracked through Oikawa’s body and he practically shouted, “No,” startling everyone. In a lower voice he continued, “Go, I know you’ve been looking forward to this. You both have. It’s only a couple hours. I’ll have fun down here eating ice cream while you losers are trapped learning about the different kind of sheet metal they have on the walls.”

“Oikawa are-”

“Go Iwa-chan. I’ll be fine,” Oikawa smiled and gave Iwaizumi one last hug. Oikawa watched Sugawara and Iwaizumi disappear into the hull of the ship. The whirring sound of the engine blocked out everything else as the Helicarrier took off.

Oikawa took to talking to the faculty member watching over him. He learned her name was Kairi, and that she actually had a little boy barley out of junior high named Tobio. They were making smalltalk when Oikawa noticed that something wasn’t right. He could feel shallow scratch marks on his arm. Looking at it he saw nothing, but the feeling persisted. Focusing on it he realized they were letters.

S

O

S

“There’s something wrong!” Oikawa shouted looking up at the sky, trying to find the Helicarrier. He jumped up knocking back the chair he was sitting in.

“What?” Kairi studied the sky looking for anything out of place.

Oikawa frantically tried to put together an explanation, “My quirk, it doesn't make sense right now but, Iwa-chan’s telling me there’s something wrong on the Helicarrier.”

Kairi reached for her phone and started dialing a number, “I’ll call in some pro heroes to investigate.”

But it was too late.

Oikawa felt like he was being split in two. His nerves short circuited and he fell backwards on the ground convulsing intensely. The pain only continued as he was split further and further around the stomach, until finally Oikawa was sure that his bottom half had been ripped off. No. Not _his_.

“Iwa-chan.”


End file.
